Comparison Guide

SD receivers:

We have five different models of SD receivers available. The DCT 2000, 2500, & 700 can be used with any provider that supports Motorola receivers. The DCH 70 & 100 are only used with US providers. In terms of picture quality, the DCT2500 (1631 model only) / DCH100 have s-video which will provide a better picture than Composite (yellow RCA cable). The DCT2500 (all models) & DCH100 also support digital audio for 5.1 surround sound when connected to an AV receiver. If you are just planning on using the standard RCA (red, white & yellow) cables you're unlikely to notice any differences in audio / picture quality.

HD receivers:

We have several different models of SD receivers available. The DCT 5100 & 6200 can be used with any provider that supports Motorola receivers, however due to their lack of cable card technology most providers in the USA will not activate these for end users. They feature DVI (video only) as their main video output. This left users needing to use RCA cables for audio or to hook the unit up to an AV receiver. Even though they are older models, they still work quite well. Picture quality is very subjective, but we don't believe you would notice a large difference between this unit and a newer model. The biggest differences are size and lack of HDMI output.

The DCH 3200 / 6200 are mostly the same as the above, except they have HDMI output. These units are only used in the USA.

Pace RNG110 / DC550 (we believe these are essentially the same model) are basically the equivalent of the Motorola DCX700, except somewhat inferior.

Pace RNG150 is very similar to the DCX3200 P3 model, and are primarily deployed as part of a whole home DVR solution. They can be used as a standalone unit if supported by your provider.

DCX3200 are available in three different models. There's no real difference for an end user apart from the appearance of the unit. The DCX700 is a smaller version of the DCX3200, mainly used by smaller cable providers. We do not know the exact differences, but the DCX3200 is by far the more widely deployed unit.

HD PVR:

We have several different models of HD PVR available. More content to follow...

Deployed mainly by Verizon, this is the same as the DCT6412 except with a 160GB hard drive.

Motorola DCT6412 Phase III

2005 - 2007

YES

YES

120GB¹

NO

DCT6400 Specification Sheet

DCT6400 Series User Guide

First HDMI model, improved airflow & fan design, SATA hard drives & much better picture quality on analog channels. These models finally brought come real stability to DVRs. They are still widely used and perform quite well. The internal hard drive can be upgraded to 1TB. They obviously do not have the processing power of later models, but with tried & true tested firmware they still hold up quite well against later models. The hard drive fan now sits under the drive (earlier models had it attached to the HDD housing) making it easier to replace in the event of failure as well.

Motorola DCT6416 Phase III

2006 - 2008

YES

YES

160GB¹

NO

See above

Same as DCT6412 above, except with 160G hard drive

Motorola DCT3412

2005 - 2007

YES

YES

120GB¹

NO

DCT3400 Specification Sheet (352Kb pdf)

DCT3400 User Guide (914Kb pdf)

First 'all-digital' model, same fan / airflow as DCT6412 Phase III. Any models starting with a '3' no longer had analog tuners.

Motorola DCT3416

2006 - 2008

YES

YES

160GB¹

NO

See above

Same as DCT3412 above, except with 160G hard drive

Motorola DCH3200

2008 - 2011

YES

NO

n/a

NO

DCH3200 User Guide (1Mb pdf)

The DCH series were introduced due to FCC regulations in the USA in 2008, and to the best best of our knowledge only used in the USA market. DCH & later models feature cable cards for removable security (M-CARD). This is an all-digital HD receiver.

Motorola DCH6200

2008 - 2011

YES

NO

n/a

NO

DCH6200 Specification Sheet (53Kb pdf)

DCH6200 User Guide (1Mb pdf)

Same as DCH3200, except it also has an analog tuner.

Motorola DCH3416

2008 - 2011

YES

YES

160GB¹

NO

DCH3416 Specification Sheet (93Kb pdf)

DCH3416 User Guide (1Mb pdf)

All-digital HD PVR. Slightly newer chipset than the DCT series, but no real difference in terms of performance.

Motorola DCH6416

2008 - 2011

YES

YES

160GB¹

NO

DCH6416 Specification Sheet (93Kb pdf)

DCH6416 User Guide (5Mb pdf)

Same as DCH3416, except it also has an analog tuner. Very popular model as it is the last DVR made to feature an analog tuner. Still widely used as a lot of companies have not upgraded to MPEG4.

Pace TDC775D

YES

YES

250GB¹

YES

While newer than the Motorola DCT line, not very popular due to it not been thought of as stable

Pace TDC777D

YES

YES

250GB¹

YES

Same as above.

Pace DC550D

2011 -

YES

NO

n/a

YES

HD receiver that is primarily used on Cogeco. Not widely available.

Pace RNG110 / DC550

2011 -

YES

NO

n/a

YES

HD receiver that is primarily used on Comcast.

Pace RNG150

2011 -

YES

NO

n/a

YES

HD receiver that is primarily used on Comcast / Cogeco, as part of a MOCA solution for whole home DVR. Comcast model uses cable card technology which makes it incompatible for use on Cogeco.

Pace RNG200N

2011 -

YES

YES

500GB

YES

Uses 2.5" SATA HDD. Used only by Cogeco in Canada. Some US providers also use this model, except it features a cable card which is not compatible with Cogeco.

The first DCX PVR available. A major upgrade over the older MPEG2 DVR of the DCH & DCT series. Supports 1080P through VOD, as well as enhanced digital audio capabilities. While no longer made, it is still an excellent PVR. Later models in the DCX series are smaller, but do not feature much in the way of noticeable improvements for the average consumer. Last Motorola model to use the regular power cord.

This a gateway type DVR used on Comcast. Unlike Arris models, this is used as a normal DVR as well. This is the best PVR we have available.

¹ Internal hard drive can be upgraded to 1TB.
² Internal hard drive can be upgraded to 3TB+.
³ All of the above models are compatible with Cogeco, except for the Motorola DCT3400 & DCH series. As of July 21st, 2014 Cogeco has made changes to their internal procedure and therefore will no longer be adding equipment that does not exist in their inventory.

Whether or not is legal for cable providers to deny you the right to use your own equipment we can not say with any certainty. However it is possible that it would come under Abuse of Monopoly.